Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

High above the sprawling, chaotic plaza, suspended effortlessly within the atmospheric currents of the upper sky, Xiao Long stood perfectly still.

The violent, high-altitude winds whipped fiercely against the clean, precise contours of his modern white suit, but a subtle, invisible barrier of refined spiritual energy kept a single strand of his immaculate white hair from falling out of place.

His deep red eyes remained cold, analytical, and entirely unbothered by the sheer physical height, looking down upon the tens of thousands of gathered youths with the detached composure of a grandmaster inspecting a field of crops.

To the naked eye of any ordinary cultivator standing below, he appeared to be nothing more than a remarkably handsome, exceptionally aloof faculty member of the Imperial Academy keeping a standard, routine vigil over the new generation.

But beneath that silent, calm exterior, his consciousness was operating at an unimaginable, blinding speed.

He was actively, systematically scanning every single student within the massive crowd, one by one, utilizing the invisible, reality-warping interface of his personal cheat.

His unique asset—the Heavens Secret System—was an absolute anomaly that defied the established laws of the cultivation world.

It granted him the divine authority to look past all mortal illusions, peer into the deepest secrets hidden under the heavens, and map out the exact truth of any entity he locked his gaze upon.

More importantly, it didn’t just observe the target, but also provide a method to improve them!

As long as he managed to accumulate a sufficient volume of spiritual materials, historical records, and baseline references within the system’s infinite database, the interface could effortlessly generate a flawless, perfect method to refine a person’s meridians, reconstruct their shattered bones, or completely erase the structural imperfections of any high-tier cultivation technique in existence.

If he fed the system enough broken scripts, it would return a divine manual capable of shaking the upper realms.

Yet, as he scanned the standard crowd of noble scions and regional geniuses, the system’s automated notification feed was nothing but a repetitive, monotonous wall of absolute disdain.

[Name: Wang Teng, Age: 38]

[Cultivation: 4th Stage Golden Core Realm]

[Traits: Basic Iron Skin Mutation (Low-Grade)]

[Evaluation: Absolute, unadulterated trash. A bloated product of superficial medicinal pills and stagnant ancestral pampering. His meridians are as narrow as a mortal sewer pipe, and his spiritual foundation is so laughably unstable that a single concentrated breath of true sword intent would shatter his core into porcelain dust. Zero potential for ascension.]

[Name: Lin Fan, Age: 35]

[Cultivation: 1st Stage Golden Core Realm]

[Traits: None]

[Evaluation: Standard mortal garbage masquerading as a regional genius. He has spent over fifteen years draining his minor clan’s spiritual stone veins just to crawl to the precipice of the Golden Core, yet his comprehension of the natural laws is entirely non-existent. Attempting to teach this individual would be a profound, catastrophic waste of heavenly karma.]

[Name: Zhao Kong, Age: 28]

[Cultivation: 1st Stage Golden Core Realm]

[Traits: Faint Earth-Attribute Affinity]

[Evaluation: Comedic trash. A fragile noble scion whose actual combat experience is lower than a common city guard. His internal qi flows backward whenever his heart rate rises in fear, and his foundation is permanently warped by a flawed, low-tier family mantra. Teaching him would bring shame to the title of Master Teacher.]

Xiao Long let out a soft, internal sigh, a trace of irritation flickering within his red eyes as he prepared to close the peripheral scanner and move to another site.

There was basically no one worth cultivating here! Even the system basically gave up on cultivating them, that’s how much of a trash these students are!

But just as his gaze casually swept past a decorative stone pillar near the primary courtyard, the automated interface of the Heavens Secret System suddenly violently flared, a series of flashing, brilliant crimson warnings bursting across his field of vision.

He stopped his sweep instantly, his pupils locking dead onto the magnificent figure of Huo Yue.

[Huo Yue, Age: 23]

[Cultivation: 1st Stage Nascent Soul Realm]

[Traits: Burning Heaven Physique (Incomplete)]

[Evaluation: A peerless, terrifying anomaly of fire. She possesses an unyielding, pathological will that has allowed her to survive multiple earth shattering tragedies. Her core foundation is completely solid, bursting with an aggressive, sovereign destiny that threatens to incinerate the pre-written script of this era. An absolute world class seed who will eventually trample the heavens below her feet.]

Burning Heaven Physique? What’s that? He had basically read all information about physiques, yet he never heard of this one before.

”System,” Xiao Long muttered mentally, his interest instantly piqued as his eyes narrowed into a sharp line. ”What exactly is the Burning Heaven Physique, and why on earth is it currently registered by the interface as incomplete?”

[System Notification: The Burning Heaven Physique is an artificially engineered, concept breaking physique brought into reality through the absolute, relentless mastery of the hidden Imperial Flame Transformation Art. At its ultimate peak, its raw thermal output and destructive capabilities are not a single fraction weaker than a legendary Divine Physique. However, due to the unique, recursive nature of the technique, it remains in an incomplete state until the host successfully seeks out, dominates, and completely absorbs all known Heavenly Flames currently in existence across the infinite star systems.]

’I see... so the only reason her physique is currently marked as incomplete by the system is simply because she hasn’t managed to hunt down and absorb the remaining scattered embers of the cosmic flames yet,’ Xiao Long thought to himself, his head nodding in a slow, calculated appreciation. ’A self-made divine physique... what an incredible monster.’

Intrigued by her sheer density, he smoothly shifted his gaze to inspect the specific group of girls standing in a tight, protective circle directly beside her, his system windows refreshing in a rapid, dazzling succession.

[Zhu Ziyan, Age: 25]

[Cultivation: 7th Stage Golden Core Realm]

[Traits: Tyrannical Tiger Subduing Eyes]

[Evaluation: An exceptional, predatory beast-tamer whose lineage has awakened an ancient, hyper-spatial pupil technique. Her eyes house a separate, autonomous dimension capable of taming and perfectly nurturing primordial beasts. Her reflexes and physical instincts are unmatched, making her an invaluable vanguard who can command an entire army of monsters with a single blink.]

[Qian Yunxi, Age: 30]

[Cultivation: 2nd Stage Nascent Soul Realm]

[Traits: Six-Winged Angel Bloodline (Partially Awakened)]

[Evaluation: A high-born daughter of Eastern Region whose ancestral bloodline has been forcefully cleansed by a supreme divine intervention. The dormant light affinity inside her cells is actively mutating, transforming her into a walking sanctuary. Her current cultivation level is a false ceiling; once her bloodline completes its full awakening, her speed of comprehension will multiply tenfold, making her an invincible force against the dark arts.]

[Xu Xiansu, Age: 24]

[Cultivation: 1st Stage Golden Core Realm]

[Traits: Sun-Moon Divine Physique (Partially Awakened) / True Reincarnation of a Supreme Emperor]

[Evaluation: An absolute, terrifying nexus of cosmic variables. She carries the fractured, dormant consciousness of an ancient sovereign ruler who once dominated the upper realms before the great scattering. Her Sun-Moon Divine Physique grants her an infinite pool of spiritual qi, and her path is heavily guarded by the passive, reality-warping luck of the world’s core. A catastrophic entity to offend, and a supreme ally to possess.]

Xiao Long almost completely choked on his own saliva, his hands tightening against the fabric of his trousers as his modern heart hammered violently against his ribs.

He could fully understand and accept that this specific, beautiful group of girls was exceptionally talented; after all, across his past life as a professor, he knew that high-tier, outstanding individuals naturally possessed a psychological gravity that attracted other elite talents to their circle.

But what in the absolute hell was this shocking revelation regarding the Reincarnation of a Supreme Emperor?!

’No... this is, their talent cannot be wasted. This is an absolute gift from the heavens to my path! I must have every single one of them as my personal disciples!’

As a transmigrator who occupied the body of a Master Teacher, one of the absolute grandest, most respected professions across the infinite domains, standard, traditional methods of individual meditation and pill-refining had little to no actual effect on his personal cultivation level and strength.

It’s not just him, every Master Teacher would find it hard to increase their cultivation if they cultivate in a traditional way.

This is because once you became a Master Teacher, the primary, absolute way for you to rapidly improve your own cultivation base, increase your strength, and break through your personal bottlenecks was entirely through the act of instructing, guiding, and successfully raising elite disciples!

The more absurdly talented, world shaking, and destiny heavy your disciples were, the faster and more explosive your own personal growth would be.

It is because of the existence of Master Teachers that academies were founded, so that Master Teachers can increase their strength without being restricted by kingdoms or sects.

For Xiao Long, if he managed to successfully accept these four peerless women under his wing, the accumulated feedback from their breakthroughs would instantly launch his own power level past the Saint realms in a matter of years!

That was it; he didn’t care what kind of political connections or ancient factions backed them—he must have these four people as his personal, bound disciples!

However, right at that exact moment of absolute internal determination, the bright morning sky above the capital city suddenly and violently darkened, plunging the entire territory into a heavy, artificial twilight.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

A series of thunderous, space-tearing rumbles resonated across the stratosphere as the dense fabric of the capital’s protective arrays began to violently buckle and part.

Xiao Long’s red eyes widened to the size of saucers as he rapidly looked up toward the high atmosphere.

And at that moment, his mind completely short circuited for a moment when he saw a collection of truly gargantuan, thousands of meters long profound arks carved from ancient star-metal and gold silk systematically sailing through the rifts, casting a colossal, suffocating shadow over the entire Imperial city.

The banners flying from the grand hulls bore the ancient, planet-shattering insignias of the world’s apex controllers.

Xiao Long’s breath caught entirely in his throat, his teeth grinding together as he recognized the hulls.

’Those are... the absolute, undisputed rulers of the Central Region... The 12 Immortal Sects and the 9 Immortal Clans?!’